“The game will always be there. You want to make sure you’re training efficiently, and not just playing online mindlessly for four hours.”
Esports team The Collective continues its interview series with their various sponsored players with Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Karin pro 56k_Modem.
While many sponsored players are arcade veterans, Twitch Streamer and Xanadu regular 56k_Modem is relatively new to the FGC. This might be why his mentality on tournaments and traveling is refreshingly optimistic: in today’s interview, he stresses the importance of relaxing and getting the most out of every tournament opportunity, win or lose.
Rick Fox, owner of ESports team Echo Fox, had a slow but important transformation from Basketball Star to ESports entrepreneur. More important than that, though, was the role that he played as “Defender” — and we’re not talking about Basketball. Rick Fox, at a time when no one else of his visibility would or could, defended video games as sport to a media that refused to believe him, and through that, helped raise the interest and prestige of ESports as a whole.
That’s the subject of theScore esports‘s latest documentary, which covers how he found the bridge between the athletic and digital competitive worlds. Though the large focus of the documentary above is on Echo Fox’s venture as a whole, the FGC plays a large part in saving Echo Fox itself — particularly their game-changing 2017 signings of fighting game players like Justin Wong.
Rick Fox, owner of ESports team Echo Fox, had a slow but important transformation from Basketball Star to ESports entrepreneur. More important than that, though, was the role that he played as “Defender” — and we’re not talking about Basketball. Rick Fox, at a time when no one else of his visibility would or could, defended video games as sport to a media that refused to believe him, and through that, helped raise the interest and prestige of ESports as a whole.
That’s the subject of theScore esports‘s latest documentary, which covers how he found the bridge between the athletic and digital competitive worlds. Though the large focus of the documentary above is on Echo Fox’s venture as a whole, the FGC plays a large part in saving Echo Fox itself — particularly their game-changing 2017 signings of fighting game players like Justin Wong.
Rick Fox, owner of ESports team Echo Fox, had a slow but important transformation from Basketball Star to ESports entrepreneur. More important than that, though, was the role that he played as “Defender” — and we’re not talking about Basketball. Rick Fox, at a time when no one else of his visibility would or could, defended video games as sport to a media that refused to believe him, and through that, helped raise the interest and prestige of ESports as a whole.
That’s the subject of theScore esports‘s latest documentary, which covers how he found the bridge between the athletic and digital competitive worlds. Though the large focus of the documentary above is on Echo Fox’s venture as a whole, the FGC plays a large part in saving Echo Fox itself — particularly their game-changing 2017 signings of fighting game players like Justin Wong.
Defend the North returns to White Plains, New York this weekend for its fifth iteration, continuing the legacy of New York’s largest fighting game event. Tournament organizer Andy “citiofbrass” Dumornay first launched Defend the North in January 2014 with the belief that New York City’s fighting game community deserved a major tournament. In the years since its debut in Flushing, Queens, DTN has served as a destination for the Capcom Pro Tour, Injustice 2 Pro Series and Killer Instinct World Cup, but that growth has also come with challenges.
New York City’s high cost of living and constant tourist traffic make rental space more expensive and harder to find, when compared to other tournament destinations. Despite this, Dumornay has remained committed to growing his event as close to the city as possible. He believes that New York has the country’s top fighting game talent and that the players should be able to attract the sort of top-level competition and sponsorship seen at events in other parts of the country.
“I’ve been grateful to the [pro tours] who do look at Defend the North as a qualifying major,” Dumornay said, in an interview with Shoryuken. “I think that New York has the best talent in the U.S. and it’s a shame for pro tours to overlook that. Why should the best talent in the U.S. have to travel to other states just to prove their worth? This happens with the Northeast time and time again.”
As the tournament lineup continues to change and players come and go, Dumornay sees the FGC in a place of transition. The generation that arrived with Street Fighter IV are community veterans now, as are the players who attended the first Defend the North. Getting the current generation of teenagers interested in competitive fighters has become a core goal for Dumornay as a tournament organizer.
Given the density of New York City there’s no shortage of gamers, but getting them active and organized within the community takes more than entering names into a bracket. In 2016 Dumornay moved Defend the North to a larger suburban venue with extra room for vendors, cosplay and, of course, more games.
In recent years the tournament has expanded to include games outside of traditional fighters, including Fortnite, Gears of War and Hearthstone. Arena fighter For Honor will also return to Defend the North for a second year, with more players and international competition. By incorporating games from other genres, Dumornay’s hopes to introduce new players to fighting games. By the end of the weekend, DTN will run brackets for at least 20 different games.
“You don’t want to have anyone feel left out, so you try to put in as many games as possible to accommodate those who are requesting it,” Dumornay said. “The reason why I put in Gears of War and Fortnite was to try and get more teenagers aware fighting game community, that is the mission statement of Defend the North.”
Looking at events like Evo, NEC, and CEO as models for growth, Dumornay said he recognizes the importance of having top players and casuals share the floor at a major. Beyond just adding more games to the lineup, he understands that adding more activities for casual players, like arcade setups or a 24-hour ballroom, elevates the overall experience.
“A lot of people think the important thing is to have a bunch of pro players come to your event but the majority is always going to be the casual players,” Dumornay said. “So it’s all about trying to have exciting things for the casual players to do.”
Caba and MenaRD will lead their team into the 5-on-5 exhibition between the Dominican Republic and New York City.
Even as Defend the North grows, the focus remains on bringing New York City together as a community and attracting the highest level of competition. This year Defend the North will host a special 5-on-5 exhibition match between New York City and the Dominican Republic in Street Fighter V. The exhibition was spawned after MenaRD and Caba faced criticism for heckling opponents during their matches at NorCal Regionals earlier this year.
“I saw a lot of people saying ‘This shouldn’t be allowed,’” Dumornay said. “Then you had some of the OGs saying ‘Hey, this is some of the stuff we had to deal with back in the arcade,’ mind you it was mainly New Yorkers who were saying that.”
New York has built its own reputation for trash talk during matches, and Dumornay felt New York would be able to match Mena’s crew round for round and shout for shout. With no prize money involved it’s just pride on the line. The Dominican Republic will be represented by Capcom Cup champion Rise|MenaRD, Rise|Caba, DR Ray, Loli24k, and Mandrake. The New York team will feature RISE|Smug, iDom, SB|Dieminion, OG|Shine and UYU|Kami. Dumornay hinted that a second team of New York challengers may be put together on site. The 5-on-5 exhibition is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, July 20.
Defend the North 2018 will be streaming from July 20 to July 22 on TeamSp00ky, TSB Blaze, House of 3000, Kick-Punch-Block, HitBox Arena, and Encore esports USA. Check below for stream times and pool schedules. Full bracket information is available via smash.gg. Major sponsors for Defend the North include esports Ecosystem, Nitro Concepts, Bloody Gaming, G Fuel and SonicBoxx.
If you play a underrepresented character exceptionally well in Tekken 7, there’s a chance you’ll end up on esports team The Collective. Including representing Nina player Victim of Ritual and Claudio player Amethystlady, The Collective is home to perhaps the rarest character specialist in the Tekken community — Katarina pro LJR.
Perhaps best known for his victories over Korean player Dimeback and Irish Pro Fergus at Final Round 2018, LJR shares his thoughts on balancing fun and performance, hiding tech, and the value of using “fake” setups.
After battling their way through the group stage, the eight finalists of the ELEAGUE Street Fighter V 2018 Invitational will face-off in the playoffs tomorrow for their shot at the $250,000 prize pool. Each finalist fought their way through a six-player round-robin and elimination bracket during the group stage, and losses in the elimination bracket will carry over into the playoffs. The player pool includes five Japanese players, two Americans, and a single representative from the UK.
Winners Bracket
Echo Fox|Tokido vs. Echo Fox|Punk
This is a rematch of one of the most memorable Street Fighter V matches of 2017, but Punk is ready to put his 0-6 loss in the Evo Grand Finals behind him for good. Since that match Tokido has consistently been at the top of international events while Punk’s stock has slowly dropped. But Punk is still the reigning ELEAGUE Champion and will have to overcome this demon to defend his title.
Tasty Steve and Echo Fox|Punk, the defending ELEAGUE Champion.
“I don’t really think about it anymore. That’s last year, this is a different year so I just try to forget about it,” Punk said, when I asked him about learning from the loss. “But everyone asks me the question so much that I have no choice but to think about it. I just try to put it in the past because stuff happens. Sometimes you get bodied, sometimes you win.”
Tokido is regarded as the best Akuma in the world, while Punk has added Cammy and Chun-Li to his roster of tournament characters, alongside his signature Karin. In an interview before the playoffs Punk said that for him to have an actual rivalry with Tokido, he’ll need to beat him first.
CYG BST|Daigo vs. Mouseesports|Problem X
While Guile vs. Bison is historically one of the hardest match-ups in the entire Street Fighter series, the Dictator has some new tricks in Street Fighter V. Several Japanese players have noted that Problem X seems to exceed the level of any Japanese Bison players, and Problem acknowledged that he has been pushing the character to the limit. He was able to score a 2-1 win over NuckleDu’s Guile in Group C but Daigo’s slow style could bring a much different look to the match. Problem X said he has been able to prepare for the Guile match-up with other European players, but struggled to find Akuma and Ibuki players to practice for Tokido and Fujimura.
Daigo Umehara continues to build his legend in the Street Fighter V era.
As the world’s most popular Street Fighter player, Daigo will have no shortage of fighting gamers cheering him on. But when asked why a newcomer to Street Fighter might root for him in the playoffs, Daigo — who has been playing competitively since the late ’90s — said he that he wants his performance to inspire people his age.
“I’m the oldest of all and I want to show everyone who’s as old as I am, I can still fight,” Umehara said, via translator.
Losers Bracket
Echo Fox| Momochi vs. CYG|Dogura
This match is a tough one to predict, because of Momochi’s character choices. During an interview before the tournament Dogura said he was worried about whether Momochi would play Cody or Kolin in their match and each time he asked, Momochi refused to answer. Dogura said he’s been preparing for Kolin but has yet to play against a strong Cody. Dogura lost to Wolfgang’s Blanka at CEO 2018, so his fear of Season 3 characters might be justified.
Momochi admitted that his focus in Street Fighter V has been on developing his Cody, but the character remains hard to win with. During their recent meeting in the Rage Esports All-Star League Momochi beat Dogura with Kolin, so he can always go back if a Cody pick doesn’t work out.
Is Momochi’s Cody ready to shakeup the playoffs?
FUDOH|Fujimura vs. RISE|Smug
Fujimura is the probably the hottest Street Fighter V player in the world right now with major wins at CEO and Stunfest. He’s also one of the few top players using Ibuki, but Smug’s Balrog is even more rare. Smug is the closest thing to a wild card in the playoff bracket, and he’s been playing Shine and other New York players to get himself ready. While Fujimura is certainly the favorite here, a lack of experience with Balrog could create a chance for an upset.
The ELEAGUE Street Fighter V 2018 Invitational Playoffs will take place tomorrow night, July 13, at 6:00 p.m. ET on Twitch, with a rebroadcast on TBS at 11:00 p.m. ET. You can watch the stream at Twitch.TV/ELEAGUETV and check out the playoff bracket at https://www.eleague.com/street-fighter-v-2018/schedule.
Warface, the free-to-play FPS, is jumping from its home on PC and invading consoles later this year. Recently, ahead of its launch, a few select conscripts dropped into a secret Parisian bunker to try out tan early build of this console shooter. Publisher My.com is expecting big things from this title and after we locked and loaded, I sat down with Project Manager Alexander Shimov to talk about this leap over to console.
Tournament of Legends III is a massive Super Street Fighter II Turbo qualifier tournament series, capping off its 32-man bracket at this year’s Canada Cup 2018. On February 24th, 2018, Stephen “Krost” Nichols became the first ToL3 qualifier via his victory over Psychochronic at Winter Brawl 12.
It’s been a long road for him, one that he recounts in his most recent interview with Fighter 101.com; from his humble beginnings as a overwhelmed MvC2 player, to his experiences trying to qualify to last year’s ToLII. You can read the full interview here.
When The Banner Saga 3 launches on July 24th, it will bring the epic and well-respected trilogy to an end. We had the opportunity to speak to the good folks at Stoic to find out how it feels to reach the trilogy’s conclusion and what may be next for the highly-acclaimed studio.
